86  Action  of  Atherosperma  Moschata.  {^Y^!;^xm' 
by  a  reddish  tint.  Vitali's  reaction  was  not  clearly  obtained  until 
at  least  mparts  of  the  atropine  solution  were  added  to  I  of  strych- 
nine. It  further  appeared  that  a  solution  of  strychnine  too  dilute 
to  give  the  characteristic  reactions  of  that  alkaloid  may  effectually 
obscure  the  atropine  reaction  ;  thus  I  drop  of  the  3  per  cent,  strych- 
nine solution  diluted  with  10  drops  of  water  scarcely  yields  the 
strychnine  reaction ;  on  adding  4  drops  of  atropine  solution  to  this, 
no  reaction  for  atropine  could  be  obtained. 
A  piece  of  meat  injected  with  0  05  cc.  of  a  3  per  cent,  solution 
of  each  of  the  alkaloids,  and  extracted  by  the  Stas-Otto  process, 
yielded  a  barely  sensible  strychnine  reaction  and  no  trace  of  atropine. 
Finally,  on  injecting  a  mixture  of  3  parts  of  the  3  per  cent,  strych- 
nine solution  and  1  part  of  the  atropine  solution  into  a  frog,  paralysis 
of  the  lower  limbs  and  a  great  augmentation  of  the  nervous  sensi- 
bility ensued  ;  on  introducing  the  mixture  into  the  eye  of  a  dog, 
distinct  mydriasis  was  observed  in  fifteen  minutes.  It  thus  appears 
that  in  cases  of  poisoning  by  atropine,  the  physiological  evidence 
may  be  conclusive  when  the  chemical  tests  yield  doubtful  results. 
ON  THE  ACTION  OF  THE  VOLATILE  OIL  OF  ATHERO- 
SPERMA MOSCHATA.1 
By  Ralph  Stockman,  M.D.,F.R.C.P.E. 
Lecturer  on  Materia  Medica  and  Therapeutics,  Edinburgh  School  of  Medicine. 
The  Atherosperma  moschata,  or  Australian  sassafras,  is  a  tree 
growing  in  S.  Australia  and  Tasmania,  and  belonging  to  the  natural 
order  Monimiacese,  tribe  Atherospermeae.  The  literature  regarding 
its  economic  and  medicinal  uses  is  by  no  means  large.  The  bark 
has  been  used  as  a  substitute  for  tea,2  while  a  decoction  and  a  tinc- 
ture have  been  employed  therapeutically. 
In  1 86 1,  Zeyer3  obtained  from  the  bark  an  alkaloid,  which  he 
named  atherospermine,  but  regarding  the  physiological  action 
of  which  nothing  is  known.  In  1862,  Greeves,  in  a  letter  to  the 
editor  of  the  Lancet,  states  that  the  bark  has  long  been  used  by  the 
1  Read  at  an  evening  meeting  of  the  Pharmaceutical  Society  in  Edinburgh  ; 
from  Phar.  Jour,  and  Trans.,  Decb.  24,  1892,  p.  512. 
2  Pharm.  Jour-.  [1],  vol.  xv,  p.  115  ;  Amer.  Jour.  Phar.,  1856,  p.  73. 
3  Vierteljahrschr.  J.  pract.  Pharm  ,  x,  p.  504  ;  Amer.  Jour.  Phar.,  1862, 
p.  166. 
